SDSU's Sterk reaffirms Aztecs will stay in Big East

That was athletic director Jim Sterk’s message when he addressed the media in a press conference Tuesday morning.

“We’re excited about our move to the Big East, the Big East is committed to a national strategy with football, and San Diego State is committed to that strategy and to the Big East,” Sterk said.

In a 20 minute question and answer session, Sterk emphasized in multiple ways that the Aztecs will not be returning to the Mountain West.

Murmurs of an about face first surfaced on Monday, when ESPN.com reported that SDSU, Boise State and BYU “have had conversations with Mountain West membership about rejoining the league.”

Sterk denied those rumors Monday, and again at the press conference on Tuesday.

“We’re a part of, and we’re moving forward with, a national football conference. We made a strategic decision to do that last December, and nothing has changed,” Sterk said, stressing that he has not even bothered to check what the Aztecs’ exit clause is in their contract with the Big East.

Maryland struck off this new round of conference realignment on Monday when the Terps left the ACC for the Big Ten. Rutgers joined them in the Big Ten on Tuesday, leaving the Big East with a hole to fill. But the league could lose a couple more teams before it’s all said and done.

Citing unnamed sources, CBSSports.com reported that the ACC would be interested in replacing Maryland with Big East members such as Louisville or Connecticut.

Sterk acknowledged that the Big East of 2013 might look drastically different from the league the Aztecs signed up for last year, but said he was not daunted by the changes.

“The Big East took a hit, may continue to take some others, but I can tell you that the league will continue to be strong,” Sterk said, expressing that he had full confidence in league commissioner Mike Aresco’s leadership. “We have five to six programs that have been in the top 10 in the last six years, and we’ll continue to do that and challenge for BCS championships in the next year.”

Sterk said at this point there is no scenario under which he could envision moving back to the Mountain West.

Even if Boise State decided to return?

“Well I don’t look backwards,” Sterk said, reiterating that the Aztecs are going to the Big East.

Now, the spotlight turns to BYU. The Cougars are independent, and under the new college football playoff system, that arguably puts them at a disadvantage because the “group of five” conferences – C-USA, Mountain West, Big East, MAC and Sun Belt – now have shared access to one major bowl bid.

BYU officials told Utah’s The Deseret News that talk of a return to the Mountain West is “simple speculative” but there’s no doubt that the Cougars would be an attractive team for either the re-jiggered Big East or the Mountain West.

Sterk said he would be in favor of adding the Cougars to the Big East, but that he has not personally gotten in touch with BYU on behalf of the conference.